Umbrella apparatus

ABSTRACT

An umbrella that is constructed with a portion that takes the appearance of the crown of a hat and another portion which takes the appearance of the brim of a hat.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

An umbrella apparatus is disclosed that includes a raised interiorcover, a substantially horizontal outer cover, and optional fabric wallthat extends around the perimeter. The wall may be formed from porousmaterial which permits drainage of water off the umbrella cover. Theumbrella can then be in the form of a hat with the interior coverforming the crown of the hat, the outer cover forming the brim of thehat and the wall forming an upturned edge of the brim of the hat.

REFERENCE TO RELATED ART

Umbrellas have been used in connection with patio furniture for manyyears, and have likely been available for personal use even longer.However, configurations that deviate from the traditional “dome” shapedumbrella are less well known. One reason for this is that new umbrellaconfigurations may be less efficient at protecting the user from theweather. Another consideration is that new designs may be more difficultto manufacture. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an umbrellaapparatus that may allow a user to adopt more innovative umbrella shapesfor use in marketing and advertising or the like while still retainingthe principal functions of the umbrella.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will be made infra to drawings wherein like reference numeralsrefer to like parts throughout and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of an embodiment of an umbrellaapparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a planar side view of the umbrella apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a planar top view of the umbrella apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a planar bottom view of the umbrella apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the umbrellaapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the top notch assembly of theumbrella apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the runner assembly of theumbrella apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the umbrella apparatus ofFIG. 1 with the cover partially collapsed;

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the umbrella apparatus ofFIG. 1 with the cover fully collapsed; and

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view of another embodiment of theumbrella apparatus with the cover fully extended and excluding aperimeter wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The umbrella apparatus of the present invention includes a tube orsupport, a top notch mounted at or proximate an end (i.e., top) of thetube, and a runner movably mounted to the tube and spaced apart from thetop notch. A plurality of stretchers may be pivotably secured to therunner, with each stretcher extending radially horizontally or nearlyhorizontally (i.e., between 0 and 10 degree) outwardly from the runner.A plurality of ribs, equal in number to the stretchers, may also beprovided with each rib being pivotably secured at one end to the topnotch and pivotably secured at an opposite end to a separate stretcher.The cover of the apparatus may include an interior cover that extendsover the ribs of the apparatus. Likewise, an outer cover may extend froma point of overlap with the interior cover (e.g., where the ribs engagethe stretchers) to a point at or proximate the opposite end of thestretcher. A perimeter wall may also be formed around the perimeter ofthe umbrella that may be supported by the vertically extending or curvedend portions of each stretcher. The wall may be formed using porousmaterial, while a nonporous material is used to construct the cover.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, the umbrella apparatus 10 includes a tube orsupport 12, a top notch 14 mounted at or proximate an upper end (i.e.,top) of the tube 12, and a runner 16 movably mounted to the tube 12 andspaced apart from the top notch 14. A plurality of stretchers 18 may bepivotably secured to the runner 16, with each stretcher 18 extendingradially horizontally or nearly horizontally (i.e., between 0 and 10degree) outwardly from the runner 16. A plurality of ribs 20, equal innumber to the stretchers 18, are provided with each rib 20 beingpivotably secured at one end 22 to the top notch 14 and pivotablysecured at an opposite end 24 to a separate stretcher 18.

Still referring to FIG. 5 a cover 26 of the apparatus preferablyincludes an interior cover 28 that extends over the ribs 20 of theapparatus 10. Likewise, an outer cover 30 may extend from a point ofoverlap 32 with the interior cover 28 (e.g., where the ribs engage thestretchers) to a point 34 at or proximate the opposite end of thestretcher. A perimeter wall 36 may also be formed around the perimeterof the apparatus 10 that is supported by vertically extending or curvedend portions 38 of each stretcher 18. The wall 36 may be formed usingporous material, while a nonporous material is used to construct thecover 26.

As best shown in FIGS. 5-9, the tube 12 may be a cylindrical aluminumtube 12 having a diameter in a range of 1 and 3 inches. A hand crankassembly 40 is provided along the length of the tube 12, with a cable 42being positioned in the interior 44 of the tube 12 and attached to thecrank 40. As shown, the cable 42 may exit the tube 12 interior throughan aperture 46 located proximate the top notch 14 and with an oppositeend secured to the runner 16.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an annular channel 47 extends around the runner16 with a plurality of uniformly spaced openings 48 that radiateoutwardly from the channel 47. An end 50 of each stretcher 18 may bepivotably secured to a ring 52, and the ring 52 positioned in thechannel 47 so that each stretcher 18 may extend through one of theopenings 48. A lid 54 may also be provided that is positioned over a top56 of the runner 16 and functions to retain the ring 52 and thestretchers 18 within the channel 47. In addition, the runner 16 mayinclude an annular grip 58 that may extend from an underside 60 of therunner 16 and function as a handhold for a user when opening or closingof the cover 26.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the top notch 14 of the apparatus 10 may besubstantially similar in construction to the runner 16 with theexception that the top notch 14 does not include a grip 58. Accordingly,as shown, an end 22 of each rib 20 may be pivotably secured to a ring64, with the ring 64 being positioned in a channel 66 so that each rib20 may extend through one of several openings 68 of the top notch 14.However, unlike the runner 16, the ring 64 and ribs 20 of the top notch14 may be retained in the channel 66 by the material of the interiorcover 28 which is secured to the apex 70 of the apparatus 10 by a cap 72that is securable to the end or top 74 of the tube 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, 8 and 9, each stretcher 18 may include oneof the vertically extending or curved end portions 38 that functions asa rib or support for the perimeter wall 36. As mentioned supra, theperimeter wall 36 may be formed from a mesh or like porous material sothat water collected by the cover 26 may drain from the edge of thecover 26.

Referring now to FIG. 10, an alternative embodiment of the umbrellaapparatus 10 is shown that does not include a perimeter wall 36.

The ribs 20, which extend downwardly from the top notch 14 to engage thestretchers 18, may be configured into a variety of shapes. For example,as shown, the ribs 20 may be configured so that the interior cover 28has the outward appearance of a cone. Moreover, when combined with thehorizontal arrangement of stretchers 18, the entire apparatus 10 whencovered may take on the outward appearance of a hat with the ribs 20 andthe interior cover 28 forming the crown of the hat and the stretchers 18and the outer cover 30 forming the brim of the hat. Indeed, as shown inFIG. 10, the look of a hat (e.g., here a “witches” hat) may be modifiedthrough variation in the length and configuration of the ribs 20, andthrough adjustment of the attachment point of the ribs 20 with thestretchers 18.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-9 and with the curved ends 38 and the cover36 a hat with an outer upwardly curved end is formed so that theumbrella ca n take on the appearance of a sombrero.

FIGS. 1-5 show the umbrella of the present invention in an open positionwith the stretchers 18 in a substantially horizontal position. FIG. 9shows the umbrella of the present invention in a collapsed position inwhich the stretchers 18 and the ribs 20 are in a substantially verticalposition adjacent the support 12. FIG. 8 shows the umbrella in anintermediate position between an open position and a closed position.

Having thus described various embodiments of the umbrella apparatus,various other embodiments will become apparent to those of skill in theart that do not depart from the scope of the present invention.

1. An umbrella comprising; a substantially vertically extending support,a plurality of stretchers pivotally and axially carried on said tubularsupport, a plurality of ribs pivotally attached to and extending fromthe top of said tubular support with each of said ribs respectivelypivotally attached to one of said stretchers at a point intermediate theends of said stretcher whereby said ribs and said stretchers are movabletoward and away from said support to move said umbrella between an openposition in which said stretchers are substantially horizontal to acollapsed position in which said ribs and said stretchers are adjacentsaid support and substantially vertical; and each of said ribs having anupper portion attached to said support, said upper portion extendingsubstantial horizontally a short distance and then curved downwardlytoward one of said stretchers whereby said ribs and said stretchers takethe form of a hat in the open position of the umbrella.
 2. The umbrellaas defined in claim 1 and including an interior cover covering saidribs.
 3. The umbrella as defined in claim 2 and including an outer covercovering said stretchers from a point at the juncture of said ribs andsaid stretchers to the ends of said stretchers.
 4. (canceled)
 5. Theumbrella as defined in claim 7 and in which said stretchers aresubstantially horizontal with the umbrella in the open position and inwhich said stretchers are provided with upwardly curved end portionswith said outer cover attached to said end portions with the endportions and the outer cover taking the form of an upwardly extendingedge of the brim of a hat.
 6. The umbrella as defined in claim 3including a runner slidably axially attached to said support; said ribspivotally connected to said runner.
 7. The umbrella as defined in claim3 and in which said interior cover with said ribs forms the crown andthe top of a hat and the outer cover with said stretchers forms the brimof the hat.
 8. The umbrella as defined in claim 5 and including a meshportion formed in said outer cover adjacent said upwardly extending edgeof the brim of the hat.